Do L'Hotellier Ball Fittings Wear?

Just wondering if L'Hotellier fittings wear? I can't seem to find what the tolerance is for the ball diameter. Just curious.

I am aware of the min travel of the locking plate of 2mm.

Thanks
Casey

At 11:04 13 April 2016, Casey wrote:
Just wondering if L'Hotellier fittings wear? I can't seem to find what
the
tolerance is for the ball diameter. Just curious.

I am aware of the min travel of the locking plate of 2mm.

Thanks
Casey

L'Hotellier don't specify a limit on the diameter itself, they specify a
limit on out-of-round. Their directions a
"The variation between several measures of the ball diameter must not
exceed 0.1 mm.
This check aim is to detect abnormal ball wear"

You should be able to download L'Hotellier's instructions from the
internet - they usually form part of the ADs issued on this equipment!

Jim Thomson

Yes, they wear. Ask the driver of the Nimbus 4 M in Washington that crashed on takeoff due to a worn l'hotellier Coming off the ball due to wear.

They do not wear if kept clean and lubricated. My fittings have exactly same dimensions as 1000 hrs ago. Bare metal against metal with some dirt between and yes, they most likely wear.

On Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at 7:46:43 AM UTC-4, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
Yes, they wear. Ask the driver of the Nimbus 4 M in Washington that crashed on takeoff due to a worn l'hotellier Coming off the ball due to wear.

Guess embarrassment overcame concern for other aviators then... no NTSB report found. I want to know how it was proven that a properly assembled, safetied & pre-flight inspected l'hotellier failed as you say. I'd also like to know if some astounding number of flight hours was involved and if anything unusual pertained to the service history (e.g. stored in Pacific Surf, lubricated with silicon carbide lapping compound, 3000 & 6000 hr life extensions pencil whipped by village idiot, you know, all the usual stuff).

Serious question btw.

Evan Ludeman / T8

Thanks for the comments.

I'm wonder what the dimensions of the balls are new.

My aileron balls on both wings are 0.02 mm smaller than the spoiler balls on both wings. Dimensions are same on each wing.

What is best lubricant? Thicker grease or thiner spray? I know the pro and cons of each but just wonder others thoughts.

Casey

On Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at 8:51:56 AM UTC-4, Tango Eight wrote:
On Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at 7:46:43 AM UTC-4, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
Yes, they wear. Ask the driver of the Nimbus 4 M in Washington that crashed on takeoff due to a worn l'hotellier Coming off the ball due to wear.

Guess embarrassment overcame concern for other aviators then... no NTSB report found. I want to know how it was proven that a properly assembled, safetied & pre-flight inspected l'hotellier failed as you say. I'd also like to know if some astounding number of flight hours was involved and if anything unusual pertained to the service history (e.g. stored in Pacific Surf, lubricated with silicon carbide lapping compound, 3000 & 6000 hr life extensions pencil whipped by village idiot, you know, all the usual stuff).

Serious question btw.

Evan Ludeman / T8

Okay, with a little PM assistance from Jonathon (thanks Jonathon) I was able to find the NTSB report. I had searched on manufacturer plus Washington state and the NTSB has the manufacturer misspelled in this accident report.

As far as the NTSB is concerned, it's failure to properly assemble and preflight, so admitted by the pilot.

best,

Evan Ludeman / T8

On Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at 9:52:03 AM UTC-4, Tango Eight wrote:

NTSB has the manufacturer misspelled in this accident report.

lol, I'm the idiot in a hurry with a worn out keyboard. *I* got it wrong in my initial search, but still got results and didn't catch my mistake.

oops.

I'm more careful at assembly time (good thing, eh?).

best,
Evan / T8

L'Hotellier web site has little info. An email to them and I was sent the maintenance Instruction.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ii53drru82...01-00.pdf?dl=0

Casey

L'Hotellier web site has little info. An email to them and I was sent the maintenance Instruction.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ii53drru82...01-00.pdf?dl=0

And it appears if the protrusion of locking lever is less than 2mm indicates the balls need replacing and I think I would replace the connectors as well.

Casey